I want to be with you and I'm not going anywhere." Is today's society open to interracial relationships?

Boyd: At Henninger, there were a number of interracial couples. Forbes: Things are changing but sometimes we still get stares.

They said that I was too young to date, yet I already had two previous boyfriends. About a year into the relationship, I broke down after class one day (from the stress of dating, school and family) and Taurean calmed me down.

I think they had all these stereotypes about him but never said it outright. I told my parents about it and that's when they realized that he's a good guy, regardless of his race. Boyd: When she got upset, I told her, "I'll stick through it with you.

Allison Forbes, 19, says some people do double-takes as she walks down the street holding hands with her black boyfriend. Such unions account for about 4 percent of all marriages, according to the estimated 2007 Census. Families and friends asked me, "Isn't there any American woman available for you?

"Things are changing but racism still exists," says Forbes, who is white. Since the 1960s, the number of interracial couples in the U. has increased more than tenfold, to 2.3 million, according to U. Here, three couples from different generations talk about their experiences. The couple, who met when Bob served in the Air Force in Japan, is retired. " Early on, my parents were not happy with Judy because of the memories of war against Japan. Judy: Bob spoke a little Japanese and I spoke a little English.

Years together: Married for 9 years, with one child.

Challenges you've encountered: Rahim: I'm Asian and grew up poor in an urban environment from Brooklyn and later the west side of Syracuse, while my wife came from a middle-class, educated family from the suburbs.

Interracial couples Emad Rahim and Cjala Surratt (married nine years), Taurean Boyd and Allison Forbes (dating for three years), and Bob and Judy Fancher (married 54 years), talk about how they first met each other. Pallone () By Ngoc Huynh Staff writer Prejudice is more subtle than it used to be, members of local interracial couples say.

But it's there, in a disapproving stare or an implied comment.

Introductions made, commonalities identified, drinks refilled. It’s just a matter of time before the inevitable question: “How did you two meet? Surely, there must be adversity in the tale of an interracial couple.